Rosie O’Donnell’s rumored return to “The View” may or may not happen. 

The former TV host recently sparked widespread attention after publicly declaring her intention to return to the show, but new reports quickly surfaced indicating that the discussions are far from being finalized.

This came after O’Donnell claimed that some of the show’s former hosts would likely return for its 30th anniversary celebration. 

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O’Donnell recently created a major stir among daytime viewers after claiming that she “will” appear on “The View.” 

However, despite her public statement, reports reveal that producers currently have “no current plans” to bring the former panelist back to the daytime table. While fans anticipated a big television reunion, network sources clarified that an appearance has not been arranged.

A rep for O’Donnell confirmed that “there was a mention of inviting some of the hosts back to ‘The View.” The rep also added, “There has not been a formal ask from the show at this time,” per Entertainment Weekly. 

To address the conflicting claims, the spokesperson further noted that Ana Navarro “mentioned [to O’Donnell] coming to Season 30 of The View as a guest (at some point during the season).” However, the representative emphasized that “nothing has been formalized.” 

As the network prepares for its traditional autumn return, an official premiere date has not been set, leaving the former host’s return unconfirmed at this moment. 

Rosie O’Donnell Previously Spoke About A Potential Return To ‘The View’

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This update comes on the heels of O’Donnell’s statements during a podcast interview, when she shared her expectation of making an appearance on the daytime talk show.

“I will go on the 30th anniversary,” she said, as confirmed by The Blast. O’Donnell also clarified that her participation would be limited to a visiting guest spot alongside other former panelists rather than a full-time position.

In addition to expressing her support for the current format, O’Donnell reflected on the challenging work environment she experienced when she first joined as moderator in 2006.

She recalled her early tenure as a high-pressure setting where personnel felt easily replaceable and workplace security felt inadequate.

Michelle Collins Claims She Was Snubbed for The View’s Anniversary Special

Following O’Donnell’s comments regarding past panelists being brought back for the upcoming broadcast milestone, former co-host Michelle Collins revealed that show executives have not reached out to her. 

Taking to social media, the comedian expressed surprise upon discovering that former talent had allegedly been approached for the celebratory event.

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PEOPLE Magazine reported that the performer shared her surprise, saying, “Now that was news to me; maybe because I’m traveling so much, my invite somehow got lost.”

Collins, whose single-season tenure on the daytime panel ended in 2016, emphasized that no production representatives have reached out to her regarding a guest appearance.

She noted that she “found that really interesting” given that she has “always behaved very professionally about the show” following her departure. 

‘The View’ Had Its Fair Share Of Explosive Fights Among Co-Hosts

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Just as Collins briefly reflected on her past time on the show, O’Donnell also recently took a walk down memory lane to reflect on her time on the show.

However, she particularly focused on the famous conflict she had with Elisabeth Hasselbeck. 

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O’Donnell named former co-host Hasselbeck as her least favorite panelist, recalling their viral 2007 debate regarding the Iraq War. Reflecting on the clash, she said, “Listen, it’s known that me and Elisabeth Hasselbeck did not have a great ending to our friendship, so I would say that was the most problematic, perhaps.”

Besides reflecting on her personal feelings, the former host also suggested that production staff intentionally orchestrated the on-air confrontation to boost television viewership.

O’Donnell pointed to the sudden technical decision to switch to a split-screen layout as evidence of behind-the-scenes planning, noting that it was likely “prepared,” as reported by The Blast.

Rosie O’Donnell Shares Her Vision Of A Potential Daytime Television Return 

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Looking past her history with the panel show, O’Donnell is also exploring a potential full-time comeback to daytime television on her own terms.

According to The Blast, she revealed that her representatives are actively holding conversations to secure a permanent hosting spot on air.

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Taking a deviation from traditional Hollywood formats, she shared that her ideal project would mirror the structure of her original talk show.

O’Donnell explained that viewers are seeking comfort over star-studded interview circuits because “America wants nostalgia.” She also noted that “celebrity culture is dead in America” and expressed a desire to center the show around uplifting human-interest stories and lighthearted games.

Bethenny Frankel is opening up about an alleged misdiagnosis she said she received for something “major.”

“So I joined a medical community and it has teams of doctors that sort of cross reference your markers, your labs, longevity,” the former Real Housewife, 55, said in a Monday, August 3, Instagram video, adding that the health initiative was comparable to the Mayo Clinic — but conveniently accessible via her home.

“It’s not just some vanity BS concierge doctor,” she explained. “It’s very legitimate.”

Frankel went on to add that the non-traditional medical care she received revealed she was “misdiagnosed with something pretty major.” While the former reality star didn’t divulge any additional details about her alleged condition, or lack thereof, she advised her followers to always obtain a second, third and even fourth opinion when seeking medical advice.

Related: Bethenny Frankel Details ‘Anxiety’ After Kidney Disease Diagnosis

Bethenny Frankel is doing what she can to stay healthy amid her battle with chronic kidney disease. “I slept an extraordinary amount this weekend. You need the sleep because you get exhausted, and then you get dehydrated because you’ve slept so much, and it’s a constant battling of the drinking of the water and then […]

“Be very thorough in your labs, your check ups, your second, third opinions, your crowd sourcing of opinions,” she said.

Frankel also added that you should not “believe everything you hear on the internet.”

“Everybody is saying that they have everything. I’m very confused because I was operating with an idea that I do have this and I don’t want to throw anybody under the bus. I tried to do the right thing and it’s very confusing,” she said. “I just think there’s nothing we should be more thorough about than our medical care, our health and just think about it.”

Frankel shared that it is important to keep a record of your symptoms and any previous diagnoses or inklings.

“Get a notebook out and whatever it is you think you have or someone said that you have or symptoms you are experiencing.” she said. “We are so thorough about restaurants, shoppings and other things … I think we need to be thorough about our health.”

While it is unclear what Frankel was referring to, she revealed earlier this year that she was diagnosed with stage 2 chronic kidney disease.

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Related: Bethenny Frankel Through the Years

Bethenny Frankel has made contestant headlines ever since she got her start in reality TV. Frankel made her first reality TV appearance in 2005 on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. She finished as the runner-up in the competition for her BethennyBakes business, which made egg-free, wheat-free and dairy-free cookies and meal delivery in New York. Following […]

“[The doctor] said it could be a function of this traumatic experience I had years ago when I almost died from an allergy attack,” she explained in an January Instagram video. “It could have done damage to the kidney. It could be autoimmune.”

One month later Frankel shared an update, revealing that her kidney disease was actually stage 3A, meaning she has mild to moderate kidney function loss, per the National Kidney Foundation.

“So, right now, this is a step in the wrong direction, but not to be totally alarmed and to come back and get tested in a couple of months,” she said in a February video. “I have a little bit of anxiety and I’m sick to my stomach, but I’m remaining calm.”

Fans of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin can’t get enough of the fire-breathing dragons that serve as House Targaryen’s source of power. While there is no denying that Martin’s dragons are well-realized in his world—acting as a stand-in for divine right to rule and the mutual destructive capabilities of nuclear weapons—they do feel less impactful than other dragons from fantasy fiction. A big reason is that Martin wanted them to feel more “natural,” limiting them to four limbs because that’s closer to a real animal, and though they have intelligence, they are far from the cunning intellect of Smaug from J. R. R. Tolkien‘s The Hobbit. Again, this approach fits the deconstruction of classical fantasy that Martin was going for, but it does leave a lot to be desired.

If one is interested in another series that combines dragons and politics, the place to look is E. E. Knight’s Age of Fire books. Released between 2005 and 2011, they are a series of xenobiology books set in a fantasy world populated by humans, elves, dwarves, dragons, and orcs-like beings called blighters. Sounds pretty standard, right? Except that the series is told entirely from the dragon’s point of view, which not only provides a new perspective, but it also presents a radically original approach to the genre that few other books have ever attempted.

What Are the ‘Age of Fire’ Books About?

The first book, Dragon Champion, begins with the birth of five dragon hatchlings: one red-scaled male, one copper-scaled male, one gray male lacking scales, and two green-scaled females. We immediately get our first look into the alien nature of dragons when we see, from the perspective of the gray male AuRon, that the males are compelled to fight to the death until only one is left. AuRon and the copper male team up to slay the red one, then the Copper falls out of the nest, surviving as an outcast while the parent dragons tend to AuRon and his sisters, Wistala and Jizara.

Their lives change forever when a group of dwarves aided by a human dragon hunter called the Dragonblade attacks their nest. Jizara and both of the parent dragons are killed, and the three surviving siblings are separated. From there, each of the first three books is dedicated to the chronicles of one sibling. AuRon travels the world as a wild dragon, making allies among beasts and sentient species, and learning all that he can about dragon history and their weaknesses. Wistala is adopted by an elderly elf named Rainfall and becomes involved in human and dwarf conspiracies as she tries to avenge her family. Finally, the Copper makes his way to the lower world and arrives at the Lavadome, an underground society of dragons full of political intrigue and power-grabbing, where he is given the name RuGaard.

This singular approach by Knight does a great job not only fleshing out each of the three protagonists, but also shifting the audience’s perspective with each book. AuRon’s narrative shows the world at its most base level, with him wandering between territories and interacting with humanoids only when needed; thus, his book is fully immersive in the dragon’s POV. Wistala then switches things up by focusing more on the humanoids and taking place in a more central location, allowing audiences to get to know some of the people of the world better and contrasting how dragons and humanoids view the world. Finally, the Copper spends the most time among other dragons, letting us see what a society of dragons would look like, and how it’s both similar and different to the humanoid ones.

‘Age of Fire’ Goes Hard Into Dragon Biology

Image via Roc Books

At their core, the Age of Fire dragons come from the classic Western Dragon of European mythologies. They are six-limbed reptilian creatures that live to advanced ages, have powerful scales that can repel most mundane weapons, breathe fire, hoard treasure, and are often found terrorizing the more humanoid races. What makes them stand out is the amount of detail Knight put into their biology. They don’t just collect treasure because it’s pretty, for example—they need to eat metal on a regular basis to keep their scales healthy and durable; otherwise, they become brittle and can fall off. The exception is gray dragons like AuRon, whose softer skin has chameleon-like properties to make up for their lack of protection. They also exhibit strong sexual dimorphism similar to birds, with male dragons possessing scales that include red, blue, copper, black, white, and gold, while females are always green.

Concerning dragon fire, it follows a trend in fantasy that began with the 2002 post-apocalyptic film Reign of Fire, which designed the dragons with two vents in their mouths that produce flame via biological combustion. In Age of Fire, fire is achieved via foua, a fatty substance that dragons spit and ignite into a sort of napalm. Knight’s dragons hatch from the egg with their wings beneath their skin, and it’s not until they reach about fifteen years old that the wings grow large enough to burst from their back. It’s a novel choice that isn’t done often when depicting six-limbed dragons in fantasy stories, offering a fun alternative to just slapping the wings onto the forearms like a bat.

Knight also does a great job of placing the reader inside the head of a dragon. They are sentient creatures, incredibly diverse in their personalities and interests, but there are a few things they have in common, mainly their species-wise superiority complex. Due to being the most physically impressive of the sentient races, all dragons have an in-built belief that they are destined to rule over others. Their long lives also mean that, in-between chapters, readers get to learn that their humanoid companions have reached advanced ages or even died, while the dragons feel like barely any time has passed. It all works together to make the dragons feel truly alien to the human mind, rather than the literary equivalent to humans in draconic costumes.

Political Intrigue Shapes Dragons and Non-Dragons Alike

Image via Roc Books

The last thing that makes Age of Fire such a compelling read is how it handles dragon politics and their reach in the wider world. At first, it feels more localized, either to the immediate territories around AuRon’s lair, the humans and dwarves Wistala interacts with, or the dragons of the Lavadome, who would feel right at home in Martin’s world with all the backstabbing, secret alliances, and political marriages they partake in. Each of the siblings enacts their schemes in different ways, but the Copper’s methods are the ones that feel the most like A Song of Ice and Fire. Due to multiple injuries in his youth that leave him half-blind, limited in his ability to use fire, and unable to fly without support, he immerses himself in the system and has an ambitious climb that even Petyr Baelish would acknowledge as impressive.

The complexity and scope of the politics only increase as the series goes on. Beginning with book four, Dragon Strike, the formula changes. Instead of one POV per book, the last three alternate between the siblings each chapter, while the scope of draconic ambition becomes truly global. Plans decades in the making come to fruition, new powers rise, and seemingly unimportant people turn out to have been masterminds all along. It does come at the cost of the interesting xenobiology and smaller stories of the earlier books, but still makes for an interesting journey.

In the end, Age of Fire is far from the juggernaut that other fantasy IPs are, but fans of the genre looking for something new and refreshing to read may find it right up their alley. Knight presents his dragons as biologically plausible while still existing in a fantasy setting, giving them plenty of unique characters and ambitions. Not to mention, it’s interesting to see a world where dragons are not just ancient monsters detached from mortal affairs, but political movers and shakers who can lead to the rise and fall of entire nations.

Action cinema reaches masterpiece territory when movement reveals character. A punch should tell us who is desperate. A chase should expose who prepared better. An explosion should change the problem instead of merely making noise. If you notice closely, Alan Ritchson’s Reacher does all of them flawlessly and that’s why it clicks so well with critics. These ten films understand that clearly.

They also know how to entertain without wasting a second. Jungle hunts, sword duels, prison riots, arena combat, alien warfare, skyscraper sieges, simulated realities, killer machines, and one very angry road trip all make the cut. Big action. Bigger craft. Zero dead weight. Let’s dig in.

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‘Predator’ (1987)

Image via 20th Century Studios

Predator sends an elite rescue team into a Central American jungle, then quietly changes the mission from military action to survival horror. Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his men expect guerrillas. Instead, an alien hunter begins studying them, collecting trophies, and removing every advantage that made the team dangerous. Guns stop feeling powerful very quickly.

The first act builds the squad through swagger, jokes, and absurd physical confidence. Then the jungle starts swallowing them. The thermal vision, clicking voice, camouflage effect, and shoulder cannon give the creature a complete hunting method rather than a random collection of powers. Arnold Schwarzenegger gradually loses the weapons, backup, and certainty attached to his usual screen image. That reversal gives the film its bite. Dillon (Carl Weathers), Mac (Bill Duke), Blain (Jesse Ventura), and Billy (Sonny Landham) also make the team memorable enough for every disappearance to register. Predator is lean, sweaty, quotable, and still capable of making a dark patch of trees look suspicious. Perfect Friday-night material.

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‘Kill Bill: Vol. 1’ (2003)

Image via Miramax Films

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 follows a former assassin known as the Bride (Uma Thurman) as she begins hunting the people who attacked her wedding rehearsal and left her for dead. Her first targets lead from an American hospital to Tokyo, where yakuza boss O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) commands an army. Revenge is the engine. Style is the fuel. Blood is everywhere.

The film pulls from samurai cinema, kung fu, exploitation movies, anime, and spaghetti Westerns without flattening those influences into decoration. Each chapter changes texture while the Bride remains locked on the same purpose. Uma Thurman gives her anger physical precision, especially during the House of Blue Leaves battle against the Crazy 88. Lucy Liu’s O-Ren receives enough history and authority to feel larger than a checkpoint on someone else’s list. The yellow tracksuit nods to Bruce Lee. The snow-covered garden creates a completely different rhythm moments later. Few action movies shift from funny to savage this confidently. Bring popcorn. Maybe wear white at your own risk.

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‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ (2023)

Image via Lionsgate

The fourth John Wick movie turns one assassin’s fight for freedom into a globe-spanning challenge against the High Table. John Wick (Keanu Reeves) travels through Osaka, Berlin, Paris, and several beautifully designed rooms full of people trying to kill him. The rules keep getting stricter. The body count ignores mathematics.

Keanu Reeves performs action through persistence. John gets hit by cars, thrown down stairs, shot at from every direction, and still drags himself toward the next obligation. Caine (Donnie Yen) adds wit and emotional pressure as a blind assassin forced back into service. Shimazu Koji (Hiroyuki Sanada), Akira (Rina Sawayama), Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson), and the Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) widen the world without stealing focus from the central duel. Chad Stahelski, a veteran stunt performer who built the series from the ground up, stages each major section with a different visual idea. The overhead gunfight turns rooms into a lethal game board. The Arc de Triomphe sequence weaponizes traffic. John Wick: Chapter 4 is excessive by design. Gloriously so.

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‘The Raid 2’ (2014)

Image via Sony Pictures Classics

The Raid 2 takes rookie officer Rama (Iko Uwais) out of one trapped apartment block and drops him into Jakarta’s criminal underworld. He enters prison undercover, earns the trust of a mob heir, and becomes stuck between gang families, corrupt police, and ambitious killers waiting for the balance to collapse. The scale expands dramatically. So does the pain.

Gareth Evans gives the story room to breathe, then unleashes action with terrifying clarity. Every opponent has a distinct rhythm. Hammer Girl (Julie Estelle) and Baseball Bat Man (Very Tri Yulisman) turn simple tools into signatures. The prison-yard riot uses mud, bodies, and limited visibility to create pure panic. A car chase moves through vehicles rather than merely following them. Then comes the kitchen fight, a long, brutal test where exhaustion becomes part of the choreography. Iko Uwais makes Rama fast and technically brilliant while preserving the desperation of someone who knows one mistake will end everything. The Raid 2 demands stamina from its audience. It pays that effort back with interest.

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‘Gladiator’ (2000)

Image via DreamWorks Distribution

Gladiator tells the story of Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe), a respected Roman general betrayed after Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) chooses him to help return power to the Senate. Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) seizes the throne, destroys Maximus’s family, and unknowingly creates the man who will challenge him from inside the arena. The Roman Empire gets very personal.

Russell Crowe brings authority to Maximus before the sword leaves its sheath. His grief keeps the spectacle grounded as the story moves from battlefield command to slavery and public combat. Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus operates through insecurity, jealousy, and a desperate need to be loved by people he terrifies. The Colosseum battles are enormous, though the film’s quieter details give them weight. Maximus touches the earth before fighting. Juba (Djimon Hounsou) speaks about seeing family again. Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) measures every word around her brother. Ridley Scott presents Rome as power, theatre, and decay packed into the same marble frame. Gladiator gives you roaring crowds and clashing steel. It also gives you someone worth cheering for. Loudly.

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‘Aliens’ (1986)

Image via 20th Century Studios

Aliens brings Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) back to the moon where her original crew encountered the xenomorph. Decades have passed during her hypersleep, and a human colony now occupies the site. When communication stops, Ripley joins a unit of Colonial Marines sent to investigate. They arrive armed, confident, and wildly unprepared.

James Cameron expanded the intimate horror of Alien into a military rescue movie without losing the creature’s menace with this installment. The Marines have memorable personalities, clear tactical roles, and equipment that creates confidence before the first major encounter tears that confidence apart. Ripley returns with trauma, experience, and an instinct to protect Newt (Carrie Henn), the colony’s lone child survivor. Their bond gives every strategic decision an emotional purpose. Hicks (Michael Biehn) stays calm. Hudson (Bill Paxton) talks big until panic takes over. Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein) remains cool enough for several people. The motion tracker turns a few glowing dots into unbearable tension, while the power-loader confrontation remains one of action cinema’s great crowd-pleasers. Aliens is fierce, warm, and ridiculously rewatchable. Game over? Never.

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‘Die Hard’ (1988)

Image via 20th Century Studios

Die Hard places New York police officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) inside a Los Angeles skyscraper during a Christmas party taken over by armed criminals. He arrives hoping to repair his marriage. Instead, he spends the night barefoot, isolated, and communicating with the outside world through a radio while hostages remain trapped upstairs. The setup succeeds through limitations. McClane gets tired, injured, frightened, and increasingly filthy. He survives through observation and improvisation rather than invincibility.

Bruce Willis brought everyday irritation and vulnerability to a genre full of human tanks, permanently changing the shape of the action hero. Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) is equally important. He is educated, composed, theatrical, and flexible enough to adjust when the plan starts slipping. Nakatomi Plaza becomes a complete playground of elevators, vents, stairwells, glass, offices, and unfinished floors. Each location solves one problem and creates another. Die Hard moves beautifully, jokes naturally, and wastes nothing. Yes, it is a Christmas movie. Start the annual argument after pressing play.

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‘The Matrix’ (1999)

Image via Warner Bros.

The Matrix follows programmer Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves), known online as Neo, as he discovers that ordinary life is a simulated reality built to keep humanity under control. Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) believes Neo may be capable of changing that system. Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) helps pull him out of it. Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) would prefer everyone stay exactly where they are.

The Wachowskis combined cyberpunk, philosophy, anime, martial arts, hacker culture, and religious imagery into a blockbuster that felt instantly new in 1999. Bullet time changed action filmmaking overnight, yet the ideas gave those images staying power. Keanu Reeves lets Neo’s confidence grow through experience rather than speeches. Laurence Fishburne makes belief sound like discipline. Carrie-Anne Moss announces Trinity by running across walls and never surrendering an inch of cool. The dojo fight explains the rules through impact. The lobby shootout turns preparation into rhythm. Even the costumes became cultural shorthand. The Matrix is exciting on first contact and richer once you start pulling at its questions. Take the red pill. Obviously.

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‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ (1991)

Image via Tri-Star Pictures

Terminator 2: Judgment Day reverses the first film’s central threat. A reprogrammed T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sent back to protect young John Connor (Edward Furlong) from the T-1000 (Robert Patrick), an advanced liquid-metal machine capable of taking almost any human form. Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) has spent years preparing for nuclear war, though the world treats her warnings as madness. Then the machines return. Awkward.

James Cameron uses groundbreaking effects to create an enemy who can pass through bars, rebuild after gunfire, and turn his own body into weapons. Robert Patrick’s calm pursuit makes the T-1000 frightening long before the effects begin. Linda Hamilton transforms Sarah into a hardened survivor whose fear of the future has nearly consumed everything tender in her. John’s connection with the T-800 introduces humor and gradually complicates Sarah’s view of machines. The motorcycle chase, canal pursuit, Cyberdyne attack, and steel-mill battle remain astonishingly clean pieces of action storytelling. Terminator 2: Judgment Day delivers scale, emotion, and ideas without slowing down. Blockbuster perfection came wearing sunglasses.

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‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Mad Max: Fury Road is a two-hour escape across a ruined desert. Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) drives a war rig away from tyrant Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) while secretly carrying his enslaved wives toward freedom. Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) becomes attached to the group through circumstance, then gradually chooses to help them survive the armies chasing them. The plot fits on a fuel receipt. The filmmaking could fill books.

George Miller returned to the series after three decades, revived it, and created an action movie built around movement, geography, color, machinery, and character. Charlize Theron’s Furiosa brings purpose to every mile. Tom Hardy’s Max operates through instinct, trauma, and reluctant cooperation. The wives refuse to remain cargo, while Nux (Nicholas Hoult) begins discovering that sacrifice can mean something beyond serving a ruler. Practical vehicles race through real desert terrain as stunt performers swing from poles, motorcycles leap over trucks, and a guitarist plays through fire because subtlety has left the continent. Fury Road is precise chaos. It is also angry, humane, strange, and thrilling from the first engine roar. Witness it properly.

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Mad Max: Fury Road

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Release Date

May 15, 2015

Runtime

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121 minutes

Director

George Miller

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Writers

Brendan McCarthy, George Miller, Nico Lathouris

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Bethenny Frankel is reevaluating her medical history after learning that she may have received a significant misdiagnosis. The former “Real Housewives of New York City” star disclosed the surprising development in a candid video, explaining that a team of doctors reviewed her records and questioned a condition she had believed she was living with. However, Bethenny Frankel did not identify the disputed diagnosis, making it unclear whether the revelation is connected to the chronic kidney disease she discussed earlier this year.

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Frankel began her update by admitting that she had been reluctant to share the unexpected news publicly. “I really don’t want to tell you this, but I have to tell you this because it could help one of you or several of you,” the 55-year-old said.

The reality star explained that she recently joined what she described as a legitimate medical community in which multiple doctors assess a patient’s health from different perspectives. “So I joined a medical community, and it has teams of doctors that sort of cross-reference your markers, your labs, longevity; it’s sort of like, let’s call it, people go to the Mayo Clinic, it’s that sort of at home,” Frankel shared.

She continued, “Different facilities, and it’s not just a BS like vanity concierge doctor, it’s very, very legitimate. And they look at supplements you’re taking, which people may say, they’re great but maybe they’re not great for you.”

After reviewing her information, the medical team apparently reached a conclusion that disrupted Frankel’s understanding of her health. “And they have said that I have been misdiagnosed with something pretty major,” she revealed.

The ‘RHONY’ Alum Is Still Processing The Health U-Turn

Frankel acknowledged that the new assessment has left her uncertain about what to believe. Although the television personality said the medical team appeared confident in its findings, she did not share the diagnosis she had allegedly received incorrectly or explain what testing led doctors to challenge it.

“I’m very confused because I was sort of operating with the idea that I do have this, and I don’t want to throw anybody under the bus and try to do the right thing and it’s very confusing and I just think there’s nothing we should be more thorough about then our medical care, our health, and just think about it,” Frankel said.

Her decision not to name the disputed condition prevents any conclusion about what the latest development means for her treatment or long-term health. It also remains unclear whether additional testing will be conducted to confirm the new assessment.

Bethenny Frankel Urges Fans To Seek Multiple Opinions

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Rather than focusing exclusively on her own situation, Frankel used the revelation to encourage followers to take a more active role in their medical care.

“Get a notebook out and whatever it is that you think you have or that someone said you have, or symptoms that you are experiencing, I think we are so thorough about restaurants and shopping and other things and business and I think we have to be very thorough about our health,” she advised.

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She also specifically encouraged people to scrutinize their laboratory results, pursue follow-up appointments, and consider second or third opinions when they remain uncertain about a diagnosis.

Bethenny Frankel Warns Fans Not To Rely On Online Medical Advice

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The former Bravo star also warned followers against treating information found online or produced by artificial intelligence as definitive medical advice.

“Don’t believe everything you hear on the internet. Don’t believe everything that chat tells you, but I do believe that whether it’s gluten intolerance or an allergy, or gut. Everybody’s sort of saying that they have everything,” she said.

Medical decisions should ultimately be made with qualified health professionals who can evaluate an individual’s history, symptoms and test results.

Her Previously Disclosed Kidney Disease Remains A Separate Issue

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Frankel’s unnamed misdiagnosis follows her disclosure in January that she had been diagnosed with stage 2 chronic kidney disease after repeated blood tests showed reduced kidney function. Weeks later, she told followers that a specialist had classified the condition as stage 3a.

She also said her doctor believed the kidney damage could potentially be connected to a severe allergic reaction she experienced years earlier. According to Frankel, the doctor said the condition “could be a function of this traumatic experience I had years ago when I almost died from an allergy attack. It could have done damage to the kidney.” Because Frankel did not name the diagnosis now being questioned, it would be inaccurate to assume that her kidney disease has been ruled out.

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Chronic kidney disease is evaluated through blood and urine testing, and some results may need to be repeated or monitored over time. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases advises patients to discuss what their specific numbers mean with their healthcare provider.

Donna Mills‘ age may be high up there in numbers, but she is still young at heart!

The ’80s soap opera star known for her iconic role in “Knots Landing” recently shared that she had officially become one of the creators on the popular adult entertainment platform. 

Proving yet again that age is just a number, Donna Mills opened up about getting wild requests from members of her OF fanbase. This comes shortly after she revealed the lengths she is willing to go for her subscribers.

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The actress sat down for an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight where she talked about her decision to launch her OF account at 85. During the conversation, Mills gave viewers a glimpse into her experience in the brief time she has spent as a creator on the adult entertainment platform.

She revealed that she had no idea about the platform until they reached out to her. After inquiring with her agent, she was told it was “kind of an adult-only kind of thing.”

Mills shared that she took a meeting with the OF reps where she was informed that she could create on the subscription-based platform on her own terms without doing nudity.

The “Knots Landing” icon gushed during her interview about how she is “sincerely happy” to be part of the platform with the opportunity to be “interacting with fans.”

The Actress Has Come To Find Many ‘People Are Turned On By Toes’

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As the interview went on, the host asked Mills to share the “wildest request” she has gotten so far from her subscribers. She then revealed that one of her fans wants her to film herself stomping on grapes from her vineyard.

“They wanna see your feet, they wanna see your toes,” the host chimed in while the TV personality nodded and responded affirmatively amid laughs. “There are a lot of people out there who are turned on by toes, I guess,” she added. When asked if Mills would grant the subscriber’s request, she said, “You Betcha!”

The conversation shifted to the iconic actress sharing that she initially thought she was elderly when she clocked 85 years on December 11. But the realization dawned on her that she “doesn’t feel elderly” and does not think she looks elderly. Mills noted that she is excited for what the future years have in store for her.

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On April 5, Mills uploaded a response video on Instagram to a netizen’s comment who complained that the actress wore “too much makeup for her age.” The TV star, dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a tank top, blonde locs, and a black leather jacket, aimed at the comment, laughing, said: “Oh, this comment, I guess I didn’t get the memo.” 

The video switched at the snap of her fingers to a shot of the mom of one in a stereotypically grandmotherly appearance, wearing eyeglasses, a buttoned-up white blouse, and her hair in a tight bun with free strands of grey hair. 

“Did you want me to look like this?” she asked amid laughs before adding “Sorry. Not sorry,” and then switching back to her original glam. The actress noted that she likes her style the way she looks.

Mills signed off with an iconic line: “Style doesn’t have an expiration date, does it?”  Fans took to the comments praising the “beautiful” actress for her response and writing several compliments about her “georgeous” makeup.

The Octogenarian Previously Disclosed Her Plans For Her OF Account

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Mills made headlines recently after it was reported that she had launched her OF account. She released a statement addressing the fact and expressing her excitement to be part of the site. She also used that medium to give fans an idea of the kind of content she intends to share with her longtime fans.

The Blast reported that the ’80s soap star said she plans to share clips of her daily life, behind-the-scenes shots, and engage with her followers in a more meaningful way. “It’s simply another platform to spend quality time with the people who’ve supported me throughout my career while staying true to who I am,” Mills explained at the time.

The mom of one initially maintained that she does not intend to go past sharing details of her actual personality and style in real time with her subscribers. However, last week, she told media outlets that she is not totally shutting down the idea of giving fans a glimpse of something “cute and sexy.”

Donna Mills Does Things On Her Own Terms

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According to Andy Bachman, a talent manager and co-founder of Creators INC, Mills is putting her own spin on the OF platform and doing things on her own terms as she creates her authentic personal space.

The actress has also had a similar outlook on life and her career. She dedicated her early years to building a name for herself in the entertainment industry, rising to fame in the early ’80s. After achieving success in Hollywood, the TV personality realized something was missing in her life: a child.

She then stepped away from Hollywood for a chance at motherhood. Mills, at 54, adopted her daughter, Chloe, when she was just four days old.

She fully dedicated her time to being a present mother, staying away from the cameras for eighteen years once her daughter started school, as shared by The Blast. Mills has also encouraged other women to focus on building their careers before opting to build a family. 

Will Donna Mills let on more wild requests she gets as they come?

Khloé Kardashian has spent the last two decades in the spotlight, but now, it’s time for her girls to shine.

Today, Hulu announced the premiere date for Khloé’s new reality show, “The Girls,” which follows her inner circle of besties as they navigate motherhood and friendship while balancing life as bosses and CEOS.

Khloé Kardashian announced the new series in April 2022 while presenting at the Hulu Upfronts. Now, the wait is almost over.

Hulu shared the super teaser of the new reality show, airing August 21, 2026, on Instagram today. The show, called “The Girls,” follows Khloé’s insanely tight-knit group of girlfriends. The cast includes familiar faces such as twins Malika and Khadijah Haqq, along with others, including Olivia Pierson, Natalie Halcro, Yris Palmer, and Nicole Williams English.

In April 2026, Khloé said she was excited to introduce the world to her “chosen family,” describing the cast of all-star women as her “incredible inner circle of real life besties.” According to Khloé, mother to True and Tatum, her friends are “moms, moguls … they’re my girls,” she said, “and soon, they’re going to be all your girls, too.”

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Fans Can Expect There To Be Drama With Khloé Kardashian’s Group Of Girlfriends

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While the trailer couldn’t give everything that’s to come later this season away at this very moment, it’s clear from the trailer that Khloé’s group of friends will not go through ups and downs. As Khloé said in the trailer, they’re all tight with her, but that doesn’t mean they’re tight with each other.

“The girls in question here? These are my OG girlfriends. They’re wild and absolutely unhinged. Kinda like me. Like real sisters, we’ve got our issues. With the girls, it’s always something. And honestly, that’s why I’m obsessed,” Khloé said.

Aside from the drama, though, viewers can expect to see a lot of fun times and moments that will remind everyone of sisterhood.

“We really are the Kardashian-Jenner OG squad. We’ve come together for every event, child, play, cry, birthday; and we’ve been a show since we’ve known each other. Khloé just figured it out that it was something that everybody else needed to see as well,” said Malika.

This Isn’t The First Time The Kardashians Have Spotlighted Their Friends

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While “The Girls” looks like it’ll be a smash hit, this isn’t the first time that the Kardashians have spotlighted their friends. Back in 2015, Malika and Khadijah starred in the E! series “Dash Dolls,” which followed the two twin actresses managing Kim, Kourtney, and Khloé’s crew of retail store employees.

In a previous interview, Malika opened up about mixing business with pleasure and said that it didn’t feel strange to her because of her and her sister’s close relationship with the Kardashian family. “We’ve been friends with [the family] since we were 15. We’ve always had a very loving and work relationship, and we’ve balanced it really well for years. We’ve learned so much,” she said.

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Khloé Kardashian Channeled Her Inner Kris Jenner To Get Her Girls On TV

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As for English, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit model is also no stranger to the world of reality TV, having originally starred in “WAGs” from 2015 to 2017 alongside Halcro and Pierson. She recently told PEOPLE that the three of them had conversations about making a return to reality TV one day, and after mentioning it to Khloé, everything just fell into place.

“She texted somebody and made a couple of phone calls,” English said. “A couple of weeks later, we were on a Zoom. A couple of weeks later, we were filming a pilot. I was like, ‘Wow, that happened fast.’”

The Kardashians Take Over Hulu With A Multi-Year Deal!

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Khloé’s new show, “The Girls,” is just one of the many projects led by one of the Kardashian women after the famous family signed a multi-year deal with the streaming giant in 2020. As part of their deal, Kris, Kim, Kourtney, Khloé, Kendall, and Kylie will create “global content” which will stream exclusively on the platform.

The announcement came after Kim and the rest of the family revealed that “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” would conclude on the E! Network after its 20th season finished airing. “It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to Keeping Up with the Kardashians. After what will be 14 years, 20 seasons, hundreds of episodes and several spin-off shows, we’ve decided as a family to end this very special journey,” Kim captioned an Instagram post at the time.

“Thank you to the thousands of individuals and businesses that have been a part of this experience and most importantly, a very special thank you to Ryan Seacrest for believing in us, E! for being our partner, and our production team at Bunim/Murray who’ve spent countless hours filming our lives. Our last season will air early next year in 2021. We love you,” she finished.

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Apple TV has slowly but surely been building one of the strongest TV libraries in streaming. While having a massive catalog is one thing, consistently delivering quality shows is another achievement. Since launching in 2019, the platform has already earned more than 850 award wins and over 3,700 nominations — a tremendous feat for a relatively young streaming service.

From sprawling sci-fi adventures to deeply moving comedies, Apple TV has proven it can excel across a wide range of genres. Even more impressively, some of its biggest hits have only gotten better with time, avoiding the sophomore slump and maintaining their momentum season after season. With that, here are seven Apple TV shows with no bad seasons.

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‘Pachinko’ (2022–2024)

Image via Apple TV+

A multi-generational epic spanning decades, Pachinko takes audiences from 1910s Korea under Japanese annexation to the brink of globalization in 1980s Tokyo. Fifteen-year-old Kim Sunja (Kim Min-ha) is born into a working-class family that runs a boarding house. However, her life changes forever when she becomes pregnant out of wedlock, and the child’s father refuses to marry her. To escape the shame and secure a future for herself and her unborn child, she accepts a marriage proposal from a kind-hearted Korean pastor and follows him to Osaka.

Pachinko is a story of perseverance, told through the eyes of a woman who begins life with almost nothing. At a time when women were expected to be little more than homemakers, wives, and mothers, Sunja constantly faces strict societal expectations. Yet she is no ordinary woman. Despite those limitations, she keeps her family alive and guides them through one of the most tumultuous periods in East Asian history, although her path to break out of poverty comes at a cost for her future generations.

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‘Ted Lasso’ (2020–2023)

Image via Apple TV

Nothing brings a team together — or tears it apart — quite like football (or, as Americans call it, soccer). Ted Lasso kicks off when college football coach Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) and his trusted assistant, Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt), are unexpectedly hired by A.F.C. Richmond owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) to lead her struggling Premier League club. Unsurprisingly, the team isn’t thrilled about an overly optimistic American with little knowledge of the sport taking charge. But as the series shows, not even the coldest English hearts can resist Ted’s Southern hospitality.

In a world where cynicism often feels safer than wearing your heart on your sleeve, Ted Lasso is about far more than what happens on the pitch. Each season explores the emotional growth of A.F.C. Richmond’s players, showing how becoming better people ultimately makes them a better team. That transformation doesn’t come easily. Just like the sport, these players require plenty of hard work and vulnerability both on and off the field. But it’s that journey that shows them what true athleticism is supposed to mean.

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‘Shrinking’ (2023–Present)

Image via Apple TV+ / Courtesy Everett Collection

Therapy gets a lot more exciting in Shrinking. In the aftermath of his wife’s sudden passing, psychologist Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel) finds himself trapped in a bottomless pit of grief and despair. Still, he has patients who depend on him. Tired of hearing the same complaints with little progress, Jimmy starts giving his clients the cold, hard truth instead of sugar-coated advice. To everyone’s surprise, his unconventional approach actually works, giving birth to his infamous “Jimmy-ing” technique.

Growth is at the heart of Shrinking. At first, Jimmy, his family, and his friends are all stuck in emotional limbo, unsure how to process their grief and move forward. But as the series unfolds, these imperfectly relatable characters slowly learn to confront their fears rather than avoid them. Every breakthrough pushes them into a new chapter of their lives, where fresh dreams, relationships, and possibilities begin to bloom.

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‘Severance’ (2022–Present)

Image via Apple TV

Corporate life has always been a little cultish, but nothing comes close to Severance. Mark Scout (Adam Scott) is a loyal employee at the mysterious Lumon Industries. The only problem is that he has no idea what he actually does all day, beyond completing tasks that keep his bosses happy. That’s because every Lumon employee undergoes the “severance” procedure, which surgically splits their consciousness into two identities: an “innie” who only exists at work and an “outie” who has no memory of what happens inside the office.

Severance taps into the never-ending debate over work-life balance and the lengths corporations will go to in the name of productivity. Their solutions may sound effective, but the series asks what happens when they involve erasing memories and burying trauma. Just as importantly, Severance is as much about its style as it is ideas. Every season contrasts a typical office’s bleak, eerie atmosphere with bizarre occurrences, from the first visit to the Break Room to the famous waffle party that somehow only gets weirder.

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‘For All Mankind’ (2019–Present)

In the world of For All Mankind, it isn’t the U.S. that reaches the Moon first — it’s the Russians. Although the nation is left in shock, the Space Race is far from over. Reimagining the astronomical conflicts between NASA and rival space programs, For All Mankind begins in the late 1960s as America scrambles to get ahead of the Soviets with increasingly ambitious missions. Each season then jumps forward a decade, showing how NASA, space technology, and the race itself continue to evolve.

For All Mankind is arguably one of the most ambitious sci-fi shows to date. Each season explores a new decade, and those time jumps bring dramatic changes not just to the characters, but also to global politics, advances in space technology, and how the public perceives space exploration. What starts as a journey to the Moon gradually escalates into even bolder missions, from establishing a base on Mars to discovering life on the moon of another planet, making each season feel bigger and more ambitious than the last.

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‘Slow Horses’ (2022–Present)

Image via Apple TV

Slow Horses follows a team of disgraced MI5 agents exiled to Slough House after career-ending mistakes or failed training. Led by the foul-mouthed yet brilliant Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), these overlooked spies work in a rundown office while handling dangerous cases involving terrorism and espionage. Despite their reputation as rejects, the dysfunctional team repeatedly tackles high-stakes national security threats, proving they’re far more capable than anyone in MI5 gives them credit for.

The first season establishes the Slow Horses as sardonic, washed-up agents who seem to have no real purpose within MI5. But later on, the show gives audiences plenty of reasons to root for these underdogs. They’re far more capable than their failures suggest, and the only way to overcome their insecurities is by taking on some of the nation’s most dangerous missions. With each season, those missions grow even riskier, evolving from Cold War sleeper agents to political conspiracies that eventually hit much closer to home.

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‘Silo’ (2023–Present)

Image via Apple TV

In a post-apocalyptic world, Silo introduces the last known remnants of humanity: 10,000 people living inside a massive 144-floor underground silo. Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) is an engineer responsible for keeping the silo running, but her life takes an unexpected turn when she’s appointed sheriff. As she investigates the mysterious death of her predecessor, Holston Becker (David Oyelowo), Juliette begins questioning whether everything she’s been told about the world outside the silo is actually true.

Silo proves that even on the brink of extinction, humanity never really changes. Social hierarchies still exist, even when everyone is trapped under the same roof. Ironically, it’s people like Juliette and the workers on the lower levels who keep the silo functioning so those at the top can continue calling the shots. But with each season, the series slowly tears apart the myths the leadership has built, as Juliette pushes the limits of not only what people can do inside the silo, but what might still be possible beyond it.

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Silo

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Release Date

May 5, 2023

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Network

Apple TV

Showrunner

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Graham Yost

Directors

Morten Tyldum, David Semel, Michael Dinner, Aric Avelino

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Ever since Stan Lee‘s final Marvel Cinematic Universe cameo, fans have wondered if anyone could ever fill that void, and the obvious answer to many has always seemed to be Deadpool. Ryan Reynolds‘ Merc with a Mouth already knows he’s in a movie, loves breaking the fourth wall, and has the kind of larger-than-life personality that could turn a 30-second appearance into a memorable gag. But that’s also why Deadpool isn’t the right choice.

Lee’s cameos weren’t memorable because they dominated the movie, they were memorable because they didn’t. Every appearance was a brief reminder that, no matter how different Iron Man, Thor, or Captain America felt, they all belonged to the same Marvel family. His scenes never distracted from the story, but they did add a little warmth, a little humor, and a smile before disappearing again. Spider-Man: Brand New Day accidentally proves the MCU already has the perfect modern replacement, and it’s Florence Pugh‘s Yelena Belova.

Yelena Somehow Steals Every MCU Project She’s In

Image via Marvel Studios

Not only is it a pleasant surprise when Yelena shows up in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it’s also a fantastic reminder that she’s become one of Marvel’s most reliable characters, and once again she walks away with one of the movie’s most memorable scenes. That’s inarguably become Pugh’s signature throughout the MCU. She arrived late when she debuted in Black Widow, but she immediately became one of the franchise’s most beloved new heroes. She stole nearly every scene she shared with Hailee Steinfeld in Hawkeye. She became one of the emotional anchors of Thunderbolts despite sharing the screen with an ensemble packed with fan favorites, and now she’s done it again in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

The remarkable part is that none of these appearances feel forced, because Marvel isn’t asking audiences to stop everything because Yelena has arrived. She simply shows up, effortlessly charms everyone around her, makes the movie better, and leaves before overstaying her welcome. That should sound familiar. Lee’s cameos became traditions because audiences looked forward to them. Nobody expected them to change the plot. Fans just knew that, at some point, Stan would pop up for a few seconds and brighten the movie. Yelena creates that same feeling.

Yelena Helps Make The MCU A Truly Shared Universe

Image via Disney+

There’s another reason Yelena works so well in these smaller appearances. The post-Endgame MCU has occasionally struggled to convince audiences that all of these heroes actually inhabit the same world. Characters often disappear for years, even when stories unfold in cities where other Avengers should logically be operating. Crossovers sometimes happen only when they’re designed to advertise another project instead of serving the movie you’re actually watching. Yelena solves that problem almost effortlessly. Because of her background, she can plausibly appear almost anywhere. She has connections to intelligence agencies, enhanced individuals, the government, and street-level heroes. Whether the story is cosmic, grounded, political, or deeply personal, there’s usually a believable reason she could cross paths with its protagonist.

That’s exactly what happens in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. She isn’t there to set up the next crossover event or tease another Avengers movie. She exists because Peter needs someone who understands the larger picture, and she’s one of the few characters in the MCU who naturally fills that role. It makes the universe feel lived in. Instead of every hero existing inside their own bubble, Yelena reminds audiences that these people actually know each other. That sense of connectivity has always been one of the MCU’s greatest strengths, and it’s something Marvel has been trying to recapture over the last several years. Ironically, the solution may not be another massive crossover. It may simply be letting Yelena pop in from time to time.

Marvel Doesn’t Need Another Stan Lee, But It Has Found the Next Best Thing

No one is replacing Lee, because his cameos meant something far bigger than simple Easter eggs. They honored the man who helped create so many of Marvel’s greatest heroes, and every appearance became a celebration of that legacy. Trying to recreate that exactly would miss the point. But Marvel absolutely can recreate the feeling those cameos inspired. Every Lee appearance made audiences smile before he slipped back into the background. The movies never became about him, but they were always a little richer because he was there. Yelena has become the first MCU character who can accomplish something similar.

Deadpool would inevitably become the focus of every cameo because that’s who Deadpool is. Yelena never has to fight for the spotlight because Pugh naturally commands it anyway. If Marvel Studios starts treating Yelena the way it once treated Lee, sprinkling her throughout the MCU whenever a story naturally allows it, audiences won’t groan about another crossover or wonder how it connects to the next movie, they’ll simply look forward to seeing her. And if Spider-Man: Brand New Day is any indication, she’ll probably end up stealing the movie again.

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Release Date

July 31, 2026

Runtime

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145 Minutes

Director

Destin Daniel Cretton

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Writers

Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Steve Ditko, Stan Lee

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Producers

Amy Pascal, Kevin Feige, Rachel O’Connor, Avi Arad

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The team behind “Heated Rivalry” is asking fans to respect the show’s boundaries as production gets underway on its highly anticipated second season. The warning comes after the show’s rapid rise in popularity reportedly led to uncomfortable encounters for stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, including fans crowding their public appearances and allegedly following Williams to his residence. Although the production acknowledged the enthusiasm surrounding the series, it made one request clear: cast and crew members need room to work without being disrupted.

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The message was posted Tuesday through the show’s official Instagram account and shared by its production company, Accent Aigu Entertainment. “If you happen to come across one of our filming locations, please give our cast and crew the space they need to do what they do best,” the statement read.

The production team thanked viewers for helping turn “Heated Rivalry” into a breakout success while asking them to avoid interfering with Season 2 filming. “Your support, enthusiasm, and kindness have meant the world to us. As we gear up for more ‘Heated Rivalry,’ please help us in making it the best it can be,” the post continued. “We promise it’ll be worth the wait!”

The appeal arrived as Season 2 began filming in Toronto. Williams and Storrie have reportedly been spotted in the city since July.

Hudson Williams Confronted Alleged Autograph Dealers

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The production’s request follows a series of tense encounters between the show’s stars and people attempting to approach them in public. During Paris Fashion Week, Williams was filmed confronting a group of alleged autograph dealers whom he accused of following him to his residence.

Williams, who plays Shane Hollander on the series, expressed his frustration before setting fire to one of his unsigned photographs. “This is f-cking weird,” he snapped. “You guys aren’t fans. You’re being really creepy.”

The incident highlighted the increasingly intrusive attention surrounding Williams and Storrie since “Heated Rivalry” premiered in November 2025. Storrie, who portrays Ilya Rozanov, has also reportedly started enforcing firmer boundaries. The actor was recently heard declining fans’ requests for photographs, according to Deuxmoi.

Neither actor’s refusal to engage in a particular moment has diminished the interest surrounding the show. Instead, the production’s latest statement indicates that the level of attention has grown significant enough to potentially affect filming.

The Show’s Stars Have Caused Chaos Outside NBC

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The frenzy has extended beyond filming locations and into the actors’ promotional appearances. Williams and Storrie have appeared on NBC programs including “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.” Their visits reportedly attracted sizable crowds outside 30 Rockefeller Center.

Seth Meyers later revealed just how intense the demand had become while discussing Storrie during the January 29 episode of his “Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers” podcast. The television host said he had “received more personal ticket requests for people to come to the show that Connor Storrie was on than [he has] for anyone outside of Taylor Swift.”

“He is a big deal,” Meyers added.

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The popularity of “Heated Rivalry” has been fueled in part by the chemistry between its two central stars. Series creator Jacob Tierney previously told Teen Vogue that he knew Williams and Storrie were right for the roles after watching them read together over Zoom.

Williams recalled being told that Storrie was American before the audition, only to become convinced that he was speaking with someone from a Russian background because of the actor’s performance. “I remember the first read with Connor because he was the second actor I read with. I was briefed that he was American, but as soon as I got in the audition room with him, I thought I was talking with a Slavic Russian boy,” Williams said.

He continued, “I thought his parents must be Russian because everything he was doing was so perfectly Ilya. I had already read lots of the book at that point and knew the characters, and his face was so hard to read.”

Williams also admitted that Storrie’s restrained performance forced him to work harder during their reading. “It was frustrating for me because he was going off script a little bit. He wasn’t always smiley, and then sometimes if I really got to him, it would just be like a [imitates slight curve of the lips], that’s all I got,” he explained. “But that helped me because I had to win your approval.”

‘Heated Rivalry’ Season 2 Is Expected In 2027

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Season 2 is based on Rachel Reid’s book “The Long Game” and is expected to premiere in April 2027.

With filming now underway, the production is attempting to protect the space needed for Williams, Storrie, and the remaining cast and crew to complete the new episodes.